Southampton Early Access and Support (SEAS) Services

Southampton City Council has a statutory responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to provide or arrange services that prevent or delay the development of care and support needs, reduce existing needs, and promote individual wellbeing.

This includes duties around the provision of information and advice, and ensuring that people are able to access preventative services that support them to live independently and maintain quality of life for as long as possible. The Council also has related duties under:

• The Health and Social Care Act 2012, to promote integration and reduce health inequalities.
• The Children and Families Act 2014, for young people with additional needs transitioning into adulthood.
• The Equalities Act 2010, to ensure equity of access and non-discriminatory service design.

SEAS (Southampton Early Advice and Support) is being developed to meet these statutory obligations by delivering coordinated, community-based early intervention and preventative support across the adult population, including carers and people with low to moderate needs who do not yet meet eligibility thresholds for formal care. The Authority plans to run a competitive flexible procedure to identify suitable provider(s) to deliver these services.